Serenity on a Day of Sorrow In 1970 as an undergrad I helped to put together the New Music performances at school. We did some music by the Swiss composer Frank Martin. I was busy learning Verdi and Puccini in those days and promised myself that I would come back to him ( and not just because we shared a name)-never did. This week I stumbled upon a recording of his choral music and it got me going. I listened to his wonderful Mass for Double Chorus. This morning in the car we were listening to, what I can only charitably characterize, a boring setting of the Dies Irae by a contemporary composer who shall not be named on WRTI. I switched to the Jersey Station. I was telling Dianne about the wonderful composer whose music I had loved so long ago and just rediscovered. I was describing to her the Double Chorus Mass. As we turned into the neighborhood and in the midst of my rapture over this masterpiece- the announcer introduces the a work by the Swiss composer Frank Martin- The Mass for Double Chorus (which he spent several years composing). The Quantum Randomness of the Universe bubbles up and through the Mystery of Creation provides order- and every once in while, serendipitous coincidences ( which I do not consider coincidences at all), delight us. Considering the solemnity of the day, I have posted the Agnus Dei.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 15:21:24 +0000